Fergie hails ton-up Rooney

23 August 2009 03:21

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson saluted Wayne Rooney after the England striker broke through the 100-goal mark for the club.
Rooney scored a brace in the 5-0 victory against Wigan at the DW Stadium in an emphatic response to the defeat by Burnley.
"It is a great achievement and he is only a young lad," said Ferguson. "Some players have been at the club for many years and not reached that total yet. It will do him a world of good."
Michael Owen also got off the mark for United with Dimitar Berbatov and Nani extending their lead - all the goals coming in the second half. However, the day belonged to Rooney with his 100th and 101st goals for United.
"Strikers have to score - that is their mantra," added Ferguson. "If they are not scoring they think the world is at an end. When they are scoring they think they will never finish scoring. But that is what they are."
Owen replaced Rooney in the 72nd minute and 13 minutes later beat goalkeeper Chris Kirkland with a cool finish to make it 4-0. It was a clever strike by the former Newcastle striker, who arrived in the summer. But Ferguson was not that surprised.
"That is what he needed, he needed a goal," said the Old Trafford boss. "It is what he is made of. All his career has been about goals. He is one the best finishers this country has ever had. This can only help him."
United have now beaten Wigan in all nine Premier League meetings but manager Roberto Martinez took some comfort from the heavy defeat as Jason Koumas and Hugo Rodallega both came close to scoring only for goalkeeper Ben Foster to make two superb saves.
"We have had a big turnaround of players but I can take a lot of positives up until the point United scored the first goal," Martinez said. "I am pleased with many aspects but disappointed in discipline. We knew United would come and try to dictate the play.
"The big difference for me was that when we conceded first goal and missed a good chance it affected us too much. We need to work on many things and become stronger."